"Hey! Who the hell is this ass hole who interrupted my epic finish!?" Wes rubbed his face with much agitation while pointing at Luke Cloud. "Where did you even come from!? There were no reports of you being on one of the ships that came back to the isle!?"

Luke chuckled at Wes' remark, rotating his arm with a grin. "Not in the report, huh?" He repeated. "Y'know, I'm surprised these idiots came back after all, but I guess no one gets left behind." He then turned to the injured Lucy and Aquarius. "I don't know what you two are fighting about…or this darkness came from…but I think we can take care of this together, yeah? Just like old times! We make a pretty good team, right Lucy?"

Lucy stood up, giving Luke a firm nod. "Y-Yeah…"

Aqaurius shook her head, hissing slightly from the gash that ran down her torso. "Idiot girl…"

"Glad to see you're not trying to kill us, Aqaurius," Luke attempted a friendly grin, but Aqaurius' cold stare shut down that approach quickly. "Right…anyway…" Turning back to Wes, Luke allowed lightning to dance around his body. "Who am I, you ask? Luke Cloud, copy mage of Fiore's strongest guild: White Eclipse. Remember that after I beat the crap outta you." After speaking, Luke was off like bolt of living lighting. He closed the gap between himself and Wes within a few mere seconds whilst pulling his arm back, white lightning radiating off his limb. "Iron Fist…of the Holy Lightning Dragon!" A mixture of his White God and Lightning Dragon slaying. Luke slammed the fist into Wes' face, a loud CRACK of thunder occurring on impact, a flash following after as Wes was thrown back a surprising distance from Luke's blow. "Lucy!"

"H-Hai!" Lucy closed her eyes while pulling the bowstring back once more. "I won't sacrifice you Aquarius…we'll take him down and save everyone from this darkness…so please, trust me!" She then unleashed massive shining arrow towards the stunned Wes.

"Ugh…sounded louder than a stereo on full volume…" Wes shook his head before noticing the arrow hurtling towards him. "Nice try, but you can't break my noise that easily!" He held his hand up, creating a protective dome of water around him…which was quickly inhaled by the vase Aquarius was holding since he completely forgot about her.

"I HOPE YOU DIDN'T FORGET ABOUT ME YOU BASTARD!" Aqaurius shouted angrily.

"Sh…!" Wes shifted his body to the side, but Lucy's arrow pierced right through him anyway, causing his eyes to widen as blood flew from his mouth. Wes fell to a knee, gasping for air from the direct blow. "Ugh…damn…water spirit. Killing my flow…"

"If you wanted your water back so much…all you had to do was ask NICELY!" Aggressively throwing the vase forward, a massive tidal wave was unleashed onto Wes, who was temporarily swept away.

"Gauh!" Wes gurgled before regaining some control, strumming his guitar to manipulate the water into a raging twister while he stood back on solid ground. "Okay, that's enough. I'm tired of you ruining my awesome performances! Let's see those hips move girl! Dance water dance!" Wes began rocking out hardcore, taking steps forward while jamming. Not only did a few clones of water appear, but they jammed along with him, causing pillars of water to rapidly rise from the ground.

Aquarius tried once again to absorb all of the water in her vase, but she quickly realized it was far too much. "…N-No…!"

"Let's rock out!" Wes and his clones exclaimed in unison. The pillars of water became more aggressive and trapped Lucy, Luke, and Aquarius within them. "It's time for the final session! JOINT SESSION!" In one final strum, the pillars of water exploded violently, sending the three scattering in separate directions. The clones faded away after while Wes turned to look at his work. "How was that?"

"Ugh…" Luke groaned while lying on his stomach. "Damn…this guy isn't a joke…" He had a hard time getting up, something Lucy assumed only because it was a heavy hit. It was a miracle that she was still conscious with all the magic used and damaged taken.

"A-Aquarius…are you…" Lucy panicked slightly while looking over to the Water Bearer. She was still there, though it was easy to tell that she wasn't happy about it. "Okay…ugh…" Slowly standing up, she teetered back and forth before staring at Wes. "Why is he so powerful…?"

"I was wondering the same thing…" Luke grunted while hunched over. "I'm also wondering…where the hell the backup is…!? Surely you all didn't split up that much…"

"I have to rescue them…" Lucy said while aiming her bow at Wes once again, several arrows at the ready. "That's why I'm fighting so hard…!"

"No no, no more of that!" Wes snapped his fingers, bringing forth the spheres of water that had Yukino, Sting, Rogue, Kagura, Selene, Draco, Frosch, Lector, Chelia, and Raven trapped in front of him. They were unconscious and who knew how much longer they had. "If you REALLY wanna take another shot at me, go right ahead! But being totally honest here…I don't think you're that good a markswoman, Heartfilia."

"Oh…" That answered Luke's question. He clenched a hand into a fist while staring at his two guild members. "Selene…Draco…Chelia…damn it…!"

"It's a shame they couldn't see this awesome rock out," Wes chuckled with an evil grin. It was rare that the lazy good for nothing actually put his foot down and actually did his job. It had to have been the heat of battle getting to him for once. "But that's enough horsing around. Lucy Heartfilia, you ARE coming with us. It is my job to apprehend the product of the traitor…and normally I'd hate to even sweat because it's gross…but this has been my work out for the year."

"Product of the traitor…?" Luke blinked before staring at Lucy. "What is he talking about…?"

"I don't know…" Lucy responded while her aim began to falter on Wes. "B-but I can't shoot at them…I can't lose Aquarius either…Maybe I should go with him…"

"Don't be an idiot!" Aquarius let out a pained grunt. "Do not go with him, you have to—

"Oi…" Luke shook his head while staring at Lucy. "Take the shot."

"Wha!?" Lucy's eyes widened while glancing back at Luke. "I-I can't…They're all in danger!"

"Do you trust me?" Luke's gaze was serious.

"Mhm…" Lucy nodded slowly before turning back at Wes, strengthening her grip on the bowstring. "I trust you, Luke."

"W-Whoa!?" Wes' eyes widened as Lucy began to take the shot again. "You must be bluffing! There's no way you're going to get that shot off with your comrades in front of you! Just be a good girl and put the bow down!"

"No." Lucy replied sternly before releasing the bowstring, sending several arrows hurtling towards Wes while waiting on Luke. No words were needed between the two, despite appearances; they had a strong level of trust.

Luke waited until the last second before snapping his fingers, creating several gray magic seals before the bubbles; circular mirrors appeared in place. The arrows bounced off into the air, where another set of mirrors appeared to ricochet off those, now heading towards Wes with their speed and power increased due to the mirrors. "Mirror Shards!" Right after Lucy's arrows, the mirrors in the air broke apart into small, yet sharp shards, all of them racing towards Wes along with Lucy's arrows.

"What!?" Wes' eyes widened at the teamwork displayed by Luke and Lucy. He wasn't expecting them to bypass the hostage situation. Before he knew it, the arrows pierced right through him while the mirror shards created lacerations within his skin. The combined efforts of the Fairy and the Eclipse mage was enough to send the rocker flying backwards until he hit the ground on his back, lying motionless.

Lucy fell to her knees, her bow disappearing due to the amount of magic she used in the bout, though she managed to flash Luke a grin and a thumbs up. "W-…We won…!"

"Did they…?" Aquarius stared at Wes while he was down…but was he out was the question.

"OUCH…" Wes groaned while standing right back up. His body was bloodied, cut, bruised, and his robe was a tattered in some places…but he was still standing tall. This made the eyes of Luke, Lucy, and Aquarius widen in fear. "Sorry to say, but you were just ONE arrow too short to put me down. Or at least come even close! It's a shame that one missed…"

"This guy's a monster…" Luke nearly choked on his words.

"W-What can we do…?!" Lucy looked to both Luke and Aquarius for any advice, but things were looking dim.

"It's time to bring this show to an end! For real this time!" Wes once again began strumming his guitar while a light blue aura radiated off his person. As a result the entire area began shaking violently. "It's time for the final jam! Now shut up and listen!" Once again, pillars of water began shooting up from the ground, only this time they were much higher in the air than before. None of the light mages could move due to their exhaustion and even if they could, the pillars prevented them from making any progress. "WATER GIGS!" With on high pitched chord being hit, the pillars of water created instantly collapsed on themselves, creating a tidal wave that swept Luke, Lucy and Aquarius away violently.

.

.

"Oh…" Laura's attention was grasped by something unnatural she could feel quite the distance away. "…If I didn't know any better, it looks like that lazy good for nothing bastard has finally decided to take his job seriously for once. I hope this yields results."

Brax waved one hand. "Oi, cut him some slack. You know he does the job when it counts."

.

.

"This monster…" Luke groaned while placing himself on a knee, panting heavily while slowly looking up at Wes. "Who the hell are you…?"

"Oh, I guess I forgot to exchange my name with the guy…" Wes shrugged as he gripped his guitar tighter, limping slowly towards the trio. "Wes, one of the 13 Commandants of Pergrande. Number 13 to be exact."

"Huh!?" Luke gasped.

"H-He's the weakest…!?" Lucy's eyes widened in horror at this realization.

"Number doesn't mean anything!" Wes shouted defensively, though that practically confirmed the assumption. "Whatever! I'm going to finish this off once and for all and bring you in, Heartfilia."

"Lucy, you have to…" Aquarius was about to bring it up again, but Lucy was quick to shake her head.

"No, I won't…!" Lucy said while forcing herself to stand up, only she fell right to her knees after. She was just about spent and could've continue fighting, which was bad considering Wes was making his way over to finish them after a long fought battle. "I can't…!"

Luke stood up, hunched over while breathing heavily. He turned to look over his shoulder at Lucy while giving a slight nod. "I don't know what you two are still going on about….but I'm going to buy you some time to do whatever it is you need to do, Lucy. I won't be able to hold him off for long though…"

As Luke spoke, Lucy tilted her head in confusion. Just what was he talking about? Lucy then saw it…the reason Luke had only been using one arm this entire fight. The other one was fractured, possibly broken. Likely during his time alone on the island after buying everyone else time to escape; brown eyes widened as she stared at the Eclipse mage. "L-Luke…"

"Do it!" Luke exclaimed before charging Wes, a black and white aura exploded around his body as he entered his dual mode: Pseudo God, covering half of his body in darkness and the other in light. His good arm was pulled back, darkness forming around it. "Darkness Crash!"

"You can still fight!?" Wes grunted in annoyance while bringing up his guitar to block against the Darkness Crash; the explosion of darkness caused by Luke's fist send Wes sliding back a few feet. "You're really beginning to irritate me! The show's over, so beat it!" Wes took one large step forward before singing his guitar directly at Luke, sending him flying away. The Eclipse mage wasn't down long; he got right back up to fight once again, and he just kept getting smacked around at this point. If not for his prior injuries, he may have been able to put up a better fight.

"We're running out of time, you brat!" Aquarius shouted at Lucy as Luke proceeded to take a beating. "He's putting himself on the line so you can save everyone, it's now or never!" Lucy opened her mouth to protest, but Aquarius wasn't having it anymore. "If you don't break my key, you'll lose everyone else. I know you don't want to feel alone anymore…but you're not, right? Your family will always live on in your heart…so you have to live on for the sake of them, and the new friends you've made. You know that's what she would want."

The tears were rolling down Lucy's cheeks by this point, but she saw Aquarius' point. She needed to do this…and she had to hurry, as Luke was now sprawled across the ground a few feet in front of her. "Luke…!"

"I'm spent…" Luke coughed up some blood while reverting to normal. "I can't move…"

"Then I guess that's it…" Wes let out a sigh while strumming one final time, unleashing gigantic beam of water towards the trio to finish them off. "Au revior!"

"I said I couldn't move…! I didn't say…I was out of magic!" Luke forced his arm forward, creating a dense black bubble that shielded him and Lucy from the beam of water. The Black God's Bubble was only going to hold out for a few seconds, however. "Lucy…Do it now…!"

"O-okay…!" Lucy shouted while gripping Aquarius' key tightly, a bright light illuminating from the sky. "OPEN…!" As soon as she began shouting, her memories of Aquarius started to flash in her mind, causing the tears to stream down her cheeks rapidly. "GATE OF THE CELESITAL SPIRIT KING!"

There was a soft smile on Aquarius' lips, a slow tear running down her cheek as soon as her key shattered. "I never liked you…and yet…" Before her thoughts could finish, she vanished as the ground began to quiver violently, causing Wes' attack to stop in its tracks just as it broke the Bubble.

"W-What's going on!?" Wes shouted while frantically looking around.

"What did you do…?" Luke weakly asked while staring over at Lucy, who was too busy crying her eyes out to even begin to give Luke a solid answer.

.

.

The Isle of the Dragons was shrouded in a thick veil of impenetrable darkness known as Night Tide. This darkness was proving to be a handicap to the mages on the island and a boon to the dragons they were fighting. If the darkness continued they would've lost this battle…but it wasn't continuing any longer. For the lone light on the island shone bright enough. A twinkle appeared within the skies above the island; faster than light, the Celestial Spirit King flew past the island with his sword held behind him. Several glints of light appeared in various locations in Night Tide before exploding brilliantly with the brightest of lights; the veil of darkness was reduced to nothing against the might of the Celestial Spirit King. The rays of hope could shine down upon the island once more.

.

.

Dhegensea could only stare in disbelief as his darkness was broken by an unknown source of light. Things weren't going the way fate wrote it too, causing a drop of sweat to appear on his forehead. "L-Light…!? Where did this light come from!?"

"Sir, look…!" Drake pointed in the sky, where the Spirit King stood, glaring down at Dhegensea. "W-who the hell is that!?"

"The Celestial Spirit King…" Dhegensea gulped before turning his shocked gaze into one of anger. "What are you doing here!? Fate did not mention your appearance! It only mentioned that everlasting darkness would shroud the island, before the dragons marched onward!"

"You were the cause of this darkness?" The Spirit King asked with a stern expression. His eyes briefly glanced in Lucy's direction all the way near the jungle; he could hear her tears of sadness. He could feel her broken heart. "You're the reason tears run down the cheeks of my old friend?"

"The spirit mage!" Dhegensea grit his teeth before letting out a soft chuckle. "So she summoned you, did she? I admit, I did not expect that girl to have the talent to summon you. What do you intend to do about it now? Are you really going to fight me because your summoned is crying?"

"I do not intend to fight you, Dragon King…" Spirit King spoke while pointing his sword at the Black Dragon King. "I intend to destroy you."

"Ha…" Dhegensea laughed at those words. "I've never had a fight with you before. This should be interesting…but allow us to take this into the skies. I do not wish to damage my island too much when I run you into the ground…" As he spoke, a pair of pitch black wings sprouted from his back; with that the pair ascended high into the sky, just above the clouds.

.

.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!" Wes exclaimed as the tremors slowly began dying down. The sky was blue once again and the Commandant was confused. All he could really focus on was Lucy, and no one was getting an answer from her since she was too busy crying. "Stop the waterworks, that's my idea!"

Before Wes could say anymore, Luke managed to get his body up and sock Wes in the face one more time; no magic, just raw strength. He collapsed shortly after but he felt as though he did his job. "Stop talking…"

Just a few feet away…Yukino started to regain consciousness. The bubble that held her trapped popped after Lucy fired her arrows; one of the arrows Luke 'failed' to deflect hit Yukino's bubble and set her free and she was just waking up now. "Ugh…" Pulling herself up, she could see Wes, Luke, and Lucy crying. It didn't take long for her to assess the important parts of the situation, so she just ran over to Lucy while holding her hand out. "L-Lucy-Sama…!"

Lucy couldn't hear anything over the sound of her own wailing. She cried and cried, but one voice managed to enter her head. 'Never forget, my old friend…even in the depths of darkness…there is always a light waiting to be found. Your light will be the one that guides everyone to victory.' Those words were enough to get Lucy back into the game. She saw Yukino and instant stood up, their hands connecting. Suddenly, a golden aura began to appear around the two spirit mages as they recited an incantation.

"Survey the Heavens, open the heavens…

All the stars, far and wide, show me thy appearance…

With such shine.

Oh Tetrabiblos…

I am the ruler of the stars…

Aspect become complete…

Open thy malevolent gate.

Oh 88 stars of the heaven…

Shine!

URANO METRIA!"

As they two began the incantation, they appeared to enter a trance-like state while the area around them, Luke, and Wes changed. Star-like lights appearing around the Commandant, double the size and number of what they would normally be. This was shortly followed by a pitch black blanket of darkness resembling the night sky. Wes stared in horror at what was about to occur, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. The stars shone brilliantly before exploding in a flash of light, enveloping the entire area. When the light faded, Wes was seen on his knees with a near lifeless expression. Was he down?

"Did it work…?" Yukino questioned while panting softly.

"N-NO…!" Wes gripped his head in what appeared to be agony. "This can't be happening…NO WAAAAAaaaaaaaaaayyy…! I can't believe…this was my final jam…" His form began to fizzle out before he just…dispersed into darkness. His head hung low and his arms dropped to his sides in a defeated fashion before he vanished, his white robe vanishing along with him. As soon as he was defeated, the bubbles containing the others popped and they fell harmlessly to the ground.

"We won, Aquarius…" Lucy smiled before falling backwards, hitting the ground on her back. She nearly passed out on the spot, but she still retained some consciousness.

"Lucy-sama…Luke-sama…what happened…?" Yukino questioned while kneeling down. "You two are horribly injured…"

"Long story…" Luke groaned.

"Well…" Eizen appeared on the scene whilst shaking his head. "This is where that infernal light came from? You humans are starting to put a damper on things, much to the King's hidden dismay."

"A-A dragon…!?" Yukino's eyes widened as she stood up, immediately grasping her key ring. She was going to fight to protect Luke and Lucy.

"Do you believe I'll fall to a human?" Eizen questioned Yukino's stance with utter disgust. He drew one hand back, a sliver light wrapping around his entire arm. "The King has ordered me to squash the source of the light that broke through Night Tide…and I'm going to do just that."

"We're not gonna be able to fight him…!" Luke groaned.

"I won't allow him to hurt either of you!" Yukino declared, as her chosen key began to shine.

Eizen drew his hand back to slash at Yukino, but before the motion was complete a funnel of orange flames suddenly consumed him. He was compelled to jump back, sucking his teeth in annoyance at his singed clothing. "Who dares interfere!?"

"Oi!" Natsu hopped onto the scene with Happy soaring above. He looked at Luke and Lucy, rubbing the back of his head oblivious to the situation as always. "Whoa, Lucy! What happened!? You look terrible…and Duke! You're alive!"

"It's Luke you idiot…" Luke shook his head, but he was secretly glad Natsu arrived on the scene.

"Natsu…" Lucy couldn't even bring herself to smile right now. But she was relived that Natsu appeared when he did.

"Natsu-sama…" Yukino let out a silent sigh of relief.

"So you're that human Dhegensea spoke of…Natsu Dragneel…" Eizen nodded slowly to himself. "Nasir was supposed to deal with you."

"Is this the guy that beat you up?" Happy asked Lucy with an innocent smile, though her lack of a verbal response had him worried. "Lucy…?"

"I was pretty annoyed when I lost Nasir…even more annoyed when that random darkness covered the entire island…but you know what made me angry?" Natsu asked while clenching his hands into fists, veins starting to appear on his forehead. "When I saw a bastard like you attempting harm on Lucy." Fists collided against one another, a vicious blaze of flames erupting around his knuckles. "I'm gonna burn you to ash."

.

.

Another explosion occurred. Erza and Ena slid back a few feet away from each other. Ena began another insanely fast charge towards Erza, but she was able to avoid it unlike most others. "…Huh…?" Ena felt her strength dropping rapidly, though before she could establish the means to why, Erza slammed the tip of her lightning coated lance into Ena's chest once more, unleashing a high voltage discharge of lightning in the female's system. Erza wasn't finished there; she brought forth her Purgatory Sword while in her Lightning Empress armor and swung it at Ena, the sheer force of the weapon sending Ena through an underground wall.

"Whoa, look at that come back!" Meredy exclaimed before looking up. "Hey look…! The sun is out again! It's day time!"

"Night Tide…has been broken…?" Ena questioned while pulling herself out of the wall with a confused expression. "B-But how…?"

Erza had a feeling. A soft smile crossed her lips, thoughts going to Lucy before giving a soft nod. "That's not your concern right now, Ena." Holding the Purgatory Sword towards the Dragon Princess, the injured Fairy made her proclamation. "What matters now…is that I'm going to break the control on you, and set you free."

.

.

Next time: Erza vs. Ena!